Sanga: The Importance of Community

by Baxter

The Transmission of Teachings

I’m penning this blog post from 35,000 feet on my way home to Oakland from an amazing four-day convention in Austin, Texas called the SYTAR Convention. I’m writing it now because I am feeling so full of excitement and information and gratitude for the experience that I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to do this! I didn’t want to lose any of the energy I felt from this amazing gathering of yoga teachers from around the world who came together to share the developments in the emerging field of yoga therapy. For those not familiar with this term, it was coined about 25 years ago, when yoga teachers Richard Miller, PhD, and Larry Payne hatched the idea of an organization and journal dedicated to the potential of yoga for both the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease. And slowly over the past 25 years, a community of like-minded yoga teachers, some already working as healing professions and others with the desire to work with those in need, has grown to the point where the International Association of Yoga Therapy, or IAYT, now has over 3000 members, in many countries around the world.

In the yoga tradition, a dedicated community is known as a sanga, and sometimes is also called a kula, per the Sanskrit language of yoga. I wanted to write about this concept as a first installment of things I learned at the conference because it came up on so many levels over the course of the four days in Austin. It began on a personal level in the form of the first person I ran into 10 minutes after my arrival: our own guest writer Shelly Prosko (see Urinary Incontinence and Organ Prolapse and Yoga among others), whom I had never met in person, only via email. What a delight to be welcomed by her amazing smile and kindness! My personal community grew quickly, as I connected with four new colleagues from Omaha and reconnected with old friends I had not seen in some time, like IAYT “Yoga Today” editor Kelly Birch. And at least a dozen people came up to me to thank Nina and me for this blog, which many had been following for years and were finding useful for their teaching and their students—thank you all for this feedback and encouragement! So Yoga for Healthy Aging is now, I feel, a part of the IAYT global community!

I witnessed many smaller communities coming together with common purpose and clarity of purpose: new yoga therapy training programs looking for guidance and support from those that have been at it for a while, yoga therapists specifically interested in bringing more yoga to the armed services, and teachers looking for new ways to work with special populations, such as those with depression or Type 2 Diabetes. If you follow us here at YFHA but are not a yoga teacher, I am hoping this information is helpful in expanding your awareness of what “yoga therapy” is and the kinds of skills these teachers who are learning additional yoga healing techniques beyond their basic yoga teacher training have to offer you.

But perhaps the most powerful use of sanga was illuminated again and again in the research and practical experience that those in the field were reporting on the role of “community” in healing.  Regular support group meetings, weekly and then monthly, are a part of the four pillars of healing of all of the heart studies conducted by Dean Ornish’s group over the last 35 years, along with yoga, exercise and diet. It was part of similar studies on prostate and breast cancer. Michael Lerner, the director of Commonweal, which hosts six week-long residential programs each year for those living with cancer, spoke movingly about the role of the group in the transformations that he as witnessed over the past 20 years at their center near Bolinas, in Northern California. Their program includes yoga, massage, healing arts, group work, and healthy food, all in a beautiful setting. He mentioned the long-lasting transformations he sees arise from one week together, and attributed some of that power to the work that take place in the ideal group size they have come to discover: only eight people! He mentioned two kinds of group dynamics that had strong effects: 

• Generous listening and compassionate attention without interruption that occurred in group sessions for the deep work
• More superficial levels of interaction that occurred in the provided space for conversation 

Another powerful presentation as made by the keynote speaker on the first day of sessions by Lorenzo Cohen, MD, an oncologist from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston (whose grandmother just happened to by Vanda Scaravelli!), who presented several studies demonstrating the effects of yoga on cancer outcomes. One clear statement he made regarding the effect of community on cancer outcomes was the social influences on cancer survival: if folks are connected with a social group, they have better survival outcomes. He cited a specific study on ovarian cancer, which showed less norepinephrine, a stress hormone that encourages tumor growth, at cancer sites in those with group support. 

Community, community, community. And even San Francisco yoga therapist Chase Bossart, in his talk on yoga for Type 2 Diabetes, suggested the motivational potential of regular attendance of group classes (sounds like community to me!) in supporting the shift from inactivity to improved physical activity in those with Type 2 Diabetes. It made me reflect on how challenging it was for me in my family practice to find ways to motivate my patients with Type 2 Diabetes to change their habit of inactivity. These days, I know that the sense of community that my students experience in their regular attendance of classes is a powerful motivator, and many positive physical and mental benefits result from that regular practice.

So, I begin my reports from the 2014 SYTAR meeting with this post on the power of sanga with you all, one of my most important communities. I hope to share a few more posts on other exciting aspects on yoga’s healing potential that I learned about in Austin soon. In the meantime, get to that community class you enjoy so much or start looking for one that fosters a sense of community, initiate a gathering of friends and family to share and listen to one another’s stories, or accept an invitation to a gathering you were wavering on. Experience the power of your kula directly, and regularly—it’s good for your health!

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Eight Ways to Join the Yoga Community

by Nina

Shoe Shelf by Melina Meza

I always arrive early to my Friday morning yoga class, not because I want my usual spot in front of the window—okay, fine, I do want that spot—but because I want the extra fifteen minutes to chat with my yoga friends. And I think I’m not the only one who feels that way because by the time the clock strikes 9:30, the teacher often has a hard time getting our attention because so many of us are busy catching up with each other. 

Whenever you see lists of the traits of long-lived people, there’s always one item about “staying connected” or “community.” They say that people with satisfying social relationships experience less mental decline and stay more mentally alert. And as someone who spends a lot of time alone (writing in my home office and practicing yoga on my own), I definitely appreciate being a member of the yoga community. Come to think of it, I’d have to say that my closest friends these days—excluding people I knew before I started practicing yoga—are people, like Baxter, who I met through yoga. Because of yoga’s emphasis on living according to the yamas (see Yama Drama) I’d venture to say that the yoga community is a particularly warm and supportive community to be part of.  So I thought today I’d list some ways you can connect with the yoga community. And because not everyone has large amounts of disposable income, I’ll try to include as many free and/or low cost options as I can.

1. Find Classes You Can Afford. Some yoga studios out there also have donation-based classes or low-cost community classes, so if paying standard fees for classes is not an option for you, you may be able to find classes that you can afford, so look around. Other studios have work-study options, where you can do chores at the studio, such as cleaning or reception work, in exchange for classes. Go ahead and ask your local studio!

2. Attend Events. In addition to offering weekly classes and workshops, many yoga studios host events, such as lectures, musical performances, and even parties, which are free or low cost. Attending these events is a good way to spend time with your fellow classmates or meet some new yoga friends. 

3. Go on Retreat. Although this is an expensive option, going on a retreat, even a local, weekend retreat, can fire up your home yoga practice and allow you to spend time with a group of likeminded people. 

4. Attend Conferences. Attending a yoga conference gives you the chance to study with teachers from around the world and to meet other yoga practitioners as well. Although these conferences can be expensive, many of these have work-study options, where you can take free classes in exchange for helping the conference organizers.

5. Volunteer for Community Service. We’ve previously written on the blog about karma yoga, selfless service (see Selfless Service for Harmonious Longevity), and even just by volunteering for the community service of your choice, you’ll in a sense be participating in the karma yoga community. However, if you want to work with yoga friends, you can also check the yoga studios in your community to see if they have community service activities through the studio. In addition, some yoga teachers teach special community classes to low-income or underserved communities, and even if you are not a trained teacher yourself, you may able to assist a teacher like this in some way, for example, through fundraising or organizational activities.

6. Practice with a Friend. Having one or more yoga buddies to practice with (either at your home or theirs) is an excellent way to start the habit of practicing at home and to strengthen bonds with yoga friends.  You can take turns teaching each other, do a sequence from a book or video together, or just practice side by side. And, yes, you can talk while you’re practicing! So if this appeals to you, be brave and ask around to see if you can find someone to join you. See Practicing Yoga with a Friend for information.

7. Attend Yoga Book Groups. Studying yoga texts and modern yoga books with one or more friends can be a great way to deepen your understanding of yoga (having a deadline to finish a chapter can get you through some challenging texts you might not otherwise read) and to bond with some yoga friends while you’re at it. If you can’t find a yoga book group in your area, start one! I was in a yoga book group for two (just me and a dear friend I met through yoga) for a number of years, so I know it doesn’t have to be a big deal to put one together.

8. Join Online Yoga Communities. Yes, we know that the received wisdom is that having online friendships, such as on Facebook, isn’t the same as having a “real” relationship. But from my experience, being part of an online group can provide you with real support, as other people will encourage you to practice at home, answer questions you might have or just listen to you vent, and sometimes these friendships lead to actual in-person meetings. (If you’d like to join me on Facebook, you can find me at Yoga for Healthy Aging).

This list is a work in progress, so please let me know if you have more recommendations. 

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Friday Q&A: Death of a Student

Q: I am a yoga teacher on the East Coast & have been teaching for 6 years. Last week, I found out a young student in one of my gym classes died (suicide, 2 weeks ago). He had been attending this class fairly regularly for the past 2+ years. The class is small, but it is not the type of environment where the students have developed close relationships with one another. They show up, practice & leave (it’s an evening class). We would have a few minutes before class to sit & wait for the earlier class to finish, but that’s the extent of any interaction that I’m aware of taking place.

I am struggling with whether or not I say anything to the group or let it go. He occasionally attended the class with a young woman, who it seemed he knew from outside of class, but I'm not sure how.

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!

A: Firstly, let me express my sadness at your loss. Although I have not lost any students to suicide, I have had students who died suddenly, and found I was impacted by the loss more than I would have anticipated. Then, of course, there are two questions that seem to arise: Do I share this with the rest of the class? And, from a teaching perspective, how do I cultivate community in settings where it does not yet exist in a very tangible form?

I don’t think there is right answer to the first question, as many variables might influence the decision to tell the group of the death of a fellow student. But I, too, teach in a gym setting twice a week and have done so for almost 10 years now. I sometimes feel a lack of community there as well, although in reality, I have some students who regularly attend these classes, some for many years. Remembering this encourages me to speak with this group in the same way I do my studio students where community is perhaps more obvious. And every time I do share some difficult or personal information that has some relevance to our work together, I am invariably delighted with the feedback that I receive, and the interactions amongst the students that ensue. So, if you’d like a greater sense of community, situations like this and many others are perfect ways to get students connecting in ways beyond just their asana, pranayama and meditation practices.

One of my favorite sutras, which I have probably alluded to before, but which has some relevance here, is 1.33, where Patanjali gives some of the only guidance in his collection of sutras about how to behave and interact with one another. 

1.33. By cultivating friendliness towards happiness and compassion towards misery, gladness towards virtue and indifference towards vice, the mind becomes pure.

Here Patanjali suggests practicing compassion, karuna, when encountering suffering (misery in this translation), dukha. How one applies that, he does not say, but the reality of this loss to suicide, shared and discussed openly, may have the beneficial effect of making all of your students feel more connected, less lonely, and perhaps could conceivably prevent another such loss. All the best to you, your students and all of our readers this holiday season!

—Baxter

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What Really Helps Foster Healthy Aging?

by Nina

Leaves Starting to Turn by Brad Gibson

As some of you may have noticed, the Sunday New York Times Magazine had an major article on aging with the rather overly dramatic title The Island Where People Forget to Die  about the island of Greek island Ikaria. A study at the University of Athens concluded that:

“people on Ikaria were, in fact, reaching the age of 90 at two and a half times the rate Americans do. (Ikarian men in particular are nearly four times as likely as their American counterparts to reach 90, often in better health.) But more than that, they were also living about 8 to 10 years longer before succumbing to cancers and cardiovascular disease, and they suffered less depression and about a quarter the rate of dementia. Almost half of Americans 85 and older show signs of Alzheimer’s. (The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that dementia cost Americans some $200 billion in 2012.) On Ikaria, however, people have been managing to stay sharp to the end.”

As usual with studies of long-lived communities, it was impossible to identify a single factor that was responsible for the long and healthy lives of the individuals within it. As the New York Times article says:

"If you pay careful attention to the way Ikarians have lived their lives, it appears that a dozen subtly powerful, mutually enhancing and pervasive factors are at work. It’s easy to get enough rest if no one else wakes up early and the village goes dead during afternoon naptime. It helps that the cheapest, most accessible foods are also the most healthful — and that your ancestors have spent centuries developing ways to make them taste good. It’s hard to get through the day in Ikaria without walking up 20 hills. You’re not likely to ever feel the existential pain of not belonging or even the simple stress of arriving late. Your community makes sure you’ll always have something to eat, but peer pressure will get you to contribute something too. You’re going to grow a garden, because that’s what your parents did, and that’s what your neighbors are doing. You’re less likely to be a victim of crime because everyone at once is a busybody and feels as if he’s being watched. At day’s end, you’ll share a cup of the seasonal herbal tea with your neighbor because that’s what he’s serving. Several glasses of wine may follow the tea, but you’ll drink them in the company of good friends. On Sunday, you’ll attend church, and you’ll fast before Orthodox feast days. Even if you’re antisocial, you’ll never be entirely alone. Your neighbors will cajole you out of your house for the village festival to eat your portion of goat meat."

In fact, if you leave out the rather sensationalist aspects of the story (the man who was cured of cancer just by returning to the island, a tale which may or may not be true), the main conclusion of the author had to do with community.

"The big aha for me, having studied populations of the long-lived for nearly a decade, is how the factors that encourage longevity reinforce one another over the long term. For people to adopt a healthful lifestyle, I have become convinced, they need to live in an ecosystem, so to speak, that makes it possible. As soon as you take culture, belonging, purpose or religion out of the picture, the foundation for long healthy lives collapses. The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing relationships among lots of small nudges and default choices. There’s no silver bullet to keep death and the diseases of old age at bay. If there’s anything close to a secret, it’s silver buckshot."

So, what, if anything, does this have to do with yoga? Well, did you know that all of us here at Yoga for Healthy Aging, even those of us who teach, take regular yoga classes? And we certainly do not attend these classes because we don’t know enough to practice on our own home. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we do it for two other main reasons. The first reason is for the wisdom we continue to receive from our teachers, which helps keep our home practice inspired. But the second reason has more to do with the other people in the class than with the teacher: we want to stay connected to the yoga community. Being part of the yoga community is like belonging to a small “ecosystem” within our larger culture. Practicing with other people helps us stay steadfast in the healthy choices we have made, whether that is a having regular asana or meditation practice or even making career, family or other life decisions that we believe will be better for us.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you to all my fellow students in my regular class (you know who you are!). And, dear readers, I hope you, too, find the same sense of community in your yoga class. And if you don’t feel supported and encouraged in your current class, I urge you to get out there and look for one where you do.

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